daywalkingblade: (Motorcycle)
Blade ([personal profile] daywalkingblade) wrote2012-08-17 12:57 pm

First Date (Tag M-)

The black muscle car rumbled into the gravel parking lot of what looked to be a bar/saloon in the middle of nowhere, upstate New York. The place was south of Rochester by about forty miles. Above the entrance, a tacky red neon sign read "The Roadhouse". There was no one hanging around outside, but thee were several cars and motorcycles. It was pretty quiet for what one might expect of a bar, at least from the outside. As the car pulled to a stop, Blade glanced at his passenger. This was going to be...interesting. She was too pretty and far to classy for a place like this. Hell, she was probably too stunningly beautiful to be in this car with someone as rough around the edges as Blade. But here they were. People would notice as they went into the bar, but nobody would say anything. Of that fact at least, Blade was certain.

"We're here. Stay close, and order whatever you want. The food's actually pretty good, and the drinks are better. Once I get some information on where to find some suckheads, we'll be out." He flashed a little bit of a toothy grin. "Guess you could say this is the closest to a "date" portion of this outing as we'll get."

They both pushed their doors open and stood up out of the car. The parking lot remained silent. Hunters and mercenaries were probably inside drinking quietly, enjoying a bit of peace. There were the occasional loud, rowdy drinkers - usually the mercs - but most just wanted a place to rest and get information before the next big job. Also, most didn't trust the night enough to be drunk out in it. Blade knew the bartender inside. A good woman by the name of Ellen who really knew her shit. It was why he liked coming here. Of course, he knew the bartenders in most of the Roadhouses around the country. It was a bit of a chain, but not in the corporate sense. When a place was named "The Roadhouse" in some back country nowhere, it was a kind of secret sign to all hunters and some mercenaries that this was a safe haven and a good place to exchange information and get jobs. They were also neutral zones. Any who dared cause any trouble in these kinds of places was blacklisted, and that was as good as being fired in this line of work. In some cases, it was a death sentence because it also meant no assistance in any job ever again.

"You ready?"
cold_as_snow: (pic#4380217)

[personal profile] cold_as_snow 2012-08-18 12:27 am (UTC)(link)
While the air stank of iron in the car in a way only older construction managed, M- found that she did, indeed, enjoy the ride in the car. The rumble of the engine vibrated her bones, and gave another dimension to the ride, beyond the casual glances from Blade. She wonders vaguely what he's thinking. Probably that she'll blend in poorly with this run. Which is true. All the clothing she had woken up to was finely made, without designer name or hint of iron in zippers, buttons, and hooks. That artifact of love or fear of the woman she had been that meant even her jeans and black t-shirt were too finely crafted to blend.

Not that she thinks she'd blend with anything short of a full makeover once she sees the sign. She doesn't look like a merc, a merc's girlfriend, or someone who would go by herself to hire one. Not that she didn't have an inner femme fatale, but it wasn't the persona in play at the moment. So, she wouldn't bother trying, just smiling back at Blade with a hint of a wicked gleam.

"So this is your idea of a date? Well, I'm certainly bound to find some kind of interesting events in the near future."

She climbs out of the car and takes her hair out of the ponytail it had been in with a shake of her head. If she's going to be out of place, she's going to make the most of it. Make herself look like a danger junky or possibly some chick he saved from a vampire tailing after the handsome daywalker. Hair down, she could have tattoos or bite marks, or any of a dozen other things. She's a little too relaxed to pull it off when she nods in answer to Blade.

"Of course."
cold_as_snow: (pic#4380218)

[personal profile] cold_as_snow 2012-08-18 01:39 am (UTC)(link)
M- walks through the bar with a certain level of interest, her gaze ranging over the bar like it's some new oddity she hadn't ever dealt with before. Which is wrong. She realizes she's been to these kinds of bars before for various purposes. The gazes which range from an unfriendly interest to too much interest never manage to touch her. There's nothing for them to cling for on her.

She flashes Ellen a warm smile, but leaves the talking to Blade. It's his world and his lingo. She's just along for the ride, much like in the car. Until she catches that Ellen is forcing an actual date on Blade, and her eyes actually twinkle. Ever more out of place, but not giving a damn.

"I'll have the same, though don't give me the shite that would be better used for paint thinner. You're obviously a woman of sufficient taste to know the difference." An Irish brogue rolls off her tongue, and despite the soft tone of her words, they carry well.
cold_as_snow: (pic#4379048)

[personal profile] cold_as_snow 2012-08-18 03:25 am (UTC)(link)
"You are too kind," responds M-, with another winning smile in exchange for the glass of whiskey. Blade can be pissy all he wants, she still has a standard of behavior to maintain at the moment, especially with a woman who pours that well.

She watches the exchange between them and her amusement shines like a light in the dark. He really doesn't seem to get it, and it's not like Ellen is even attempting anything like subtlety with her blackmail. The second the bartender gives them a little space, she leans in to speak to Blade.

"It seems the lady thinks you need a social life, and is prepared to blackmail you into it. Do try to soothe my ego and their envy by looking less tortured by my nearness if you would."
cold_as_snow: (pic#4380218)

[personal profile] cold_as_snow 2012-08-18 04:06 am (UTC)(link)
She winks freely at Ellen. "You'd have to ask prettier than that, dear. As for the whiskey? I can't say I'm shocked. Set him at anything but the fight, and he's more than half distracted."

M- is calm as she sips and watches Blade process the new information. Not exactly a dull boy, but definitely one who'd been all work for too long. There was clearly some kind of fight or something going on behind the glasses, and she really couldn't wait to see what it was.

"Consider this part of the hunt, then." Her tone is as soft and amused as she is. Poor man has probably never been on a reasonable date in his life, yet here he is.
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[personal profile] cold_as_snow 2012-08-18 04:55 am (UTC)(link)
It's all M- can do not to laugh. He's surprisingly innocent in his way. Not looking at dating or relationships as a hunt. Not getting that he was being nudged into a more intimate location. She's tempted to flirt with him overtly and see if he picks up any of the signs. Alas, but he is waiting for that hunt.

She follows him over to the empty booth where she takes a seat across from him. He gets the fully glimmering light of her amusement that lights up her face.

"She expects me to flirt with you, you know, and for you to flirt back. It's understandable, really. You are a handsome man that I've followed into a den of hunters. Poor woman, thinking you could so easily be persuaded when vampires on your mind."
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[personal profile] cold_as_snow 2012-08-18 11:05 pm (UTC)(link)
M- really can't blame him. Nothing about him said the man who paused what he was doing for long enough to learn a skill most people had to stumble through at some point in adolescence. Blade clearly had other more literal demons to face down at the time.

"A man never gets too old to learn."

She produces a small set of her own silverware, which is literally silver from a pocket, and starts on her own food. Of course it might tip a few hunters off, but dying or scorching her own lips on the provided silverware really wasn't work the risk. Especially not when his words were distracting her with his words. Hmm. The point of her is very interesting on it's own.

"I think you will find yourself surprised."

She says it about both her way with the fight and about the promise she can only guess at. Which comes clear, when she pulls off one of the leather gloves to allow herself to reach over and run her finger lightly over the bottom of his lip to catch a hint of juice that spilled over his lip.
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[personal profile] cold_as_snow 2012-08-19 02:32 am (UTC)(link)
Blade regarded her for several moments, his expression, as usual, unreadable behind his sunglasses. Then he quirked a bit of a smile. "Nicest Unseelie I've ever met. Prettiest, too. Just don't advertise it around here. Better safe than sorry, but I'm betting not many people here have too much experience with fae. I'm also betting that if they have, it hasn't been good."

He tilted his head to the side after taking another thoughtful bite of his steak. "But you aren't that person now. You're just an M, finding out if she can hunt vampires. And if you can do that, you're good in my books."


"Old people learn new languages when they most, of this I'm certain. And you've never had a solid reason to flirt before." She grins at him with a hint of lascivious light in her eyes. She really should resist temptation, but it's just not her nature. "And then, maybe you really will be fucked."

It's just enough to let him have the time to move her stainless silverware away. Protective, which was about as surprising as nothing at all. He spent his whole life keeping people he probably didn't have enough time to connect with safe. She was probably one of the few people he'd talk to regularly, and he knew she was interested in him. Protective only made sense. It also meant that he was paying close enough attention to the quirks in her eating habits.

"I have a feeling those words, fae and unseelie, are loaded. They don't mean very much to me. The others, though. Those are good, and so I am M- and you will see what that means with what I still am."
cold_as_snow: (pic#4380359)

[personal profile] cold_as_snow 2012-08-19 03:18 am (UTC)(link)
She counted his reaction as a victory. The complicated, man looking at her from across the table wanted to try something besides his work for long enough to get somewhere. Not that she didn't assume part of him thought like a man. There were the diehards that literally lost all that was sexual in them and the ones who pretended and fought. The fact she was here at all was plenty telling.

"All the more reason to get a little practice."

The familiarity of what he says should be vaguely upsetting. 'Seelie' manages to bring something close to a sneer. Some things are too deeply ingrained to be forgotten. Besides, she's entirely certain that light, heat, and life can be just as or more cruel than the things he's mentioned. A vague instinct of the things that can be done to someone who is not allowed to die makes death seem like a kindness. But she doesn't feel the need to explain that at the moment. Instead her expression becomes calm and thoughtful.

"It seems quite fortunate that you and I are going to see exactly what I'm capable of, then."
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[personal profile] cold_as_snow 2012-08-19 04:07 am (UTC)(link)
She leans in slightly towards him, her voice dropping to just above a whisper. "You figured out a way for me to go with you to a dive bar filled with people who'd probably want to kill me if they knew the full truth and given proper opportunity. You must be doing something right."

The thing about the woman in front of him is that she isn't human. That's enough for some people and some places to label her a monster, regardless of what she does. She'll never think exactly like a human, never react exactly like one. Courting him, and she doesn't exactly doubt she's the one doing the courting, is courting a risk. He can't make peace with the part of him that is inhuman, and that draws her.

"I don't know who I will come to be. A person checked my head, and apparently it's devastation in there. Which means I've only begun to be who I am. There are no promises about the final product. If that's too much for you? I understand."
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[personal profile] cold_as_snow 2012-08-19 04:43 am (UTC)(link)
She's tempted to kiss him in answer. The smell of his skin, the subtle shiver, the flush of heat that she actually wants to feel against her skin. It's too early. He wants her, but he won't accept the want until he sees a person who can keep up with him hit for hit. Who can hunt with him. She can wait, but not before leaning just a little bit closer before relaxing back.

"I think that it's just fine. Whoever stays around has to be in for the ride, which means someone who can survive it. I think you can survive it just fine."
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[personal profile] cold_as_snow 2012-08-19 05:34 am (UTC)(link)
There would be the question of whether or not she were glamouring him, if she knew she had the ability or how to use it. She doesn't know how, and the truth is beyond the native attractiveness she radiates, there's a damned good chance M- doesn't need it. The woman is a femme fatal, even when she doesn't intend to be. Especially when she feels drawn to someone like Blade. The affection, attention, and more runs through her and feeds instincts and to satisfy an ache. Certain things don't change.

"The point is to explore something new, too. Being a little bit of your old self is hardly a sin."

M- didn't let her eyes drift over to Ellen. Not with the way Blade kept his look on her even as the information goes on. His eyes are hypnotic in their own way, and she wonders if she isn't a little caught by him. Definitely more than a little caught when he gives the generous tip and comments about what else he's thanking her for.

"Clever and kind."
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[personal profile] cold_as_snow 2012-08-20 01:19 am (UTC)(link)
M- scoops up her silverware effortlessly tucking them away so they're hidden in her pocket. No sense leaving things that expensive behind, even if she does have the money. Not to mention the evidence as she stands and follows him.

"Good meal, Ellen."

And then she's working on her way out the door after Blade.
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[personal profile] cold_as_snow 2012-08-20 04:17 am (UTC)(link)
Just as well, really. M- would accept him holding a door open for her out of respect, but chivalry would have only gotten him a subtle kind of disdain. Women might be treated with a certain ingrained sexism among human cultures, but it was only a weakness to be exploited in her eyes. So Ellen was frowning at Blade for no real reason at all.

The music is interesting. Nothing that M- is aware of, but interesting enough to fill the silence until Blade talks. The plan is one of those classic things that lasts because it works. Let the predator think they're hunting until they're too distracted for anything else. Wrapped in compliments that aren't quite compliments, but details in a plan.

Her smile is a subtle thing. A slight quirk of her lips and shift of her brow. "I have no doubt that I can. The only thing that surprises me is that you'd let me drive your car."

I appreciate it!

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wth do I keep doing?

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Ugh, that sucks.

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Poor DP, bad, bad timing.

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